How To Train Your Writing (One-Shot collection)
by Dante Stormcloud
Summary: Here is a small collection of stories based around my favorite dragon lover couple, Hiccstrid. Hope everyone enjoys reading, rated T mostly for language. - New Chapter: My Name is Astrid, Comic-Con has come to Berk, and for five years, Hiccup and Astrid pretend to be super heros.
1. Running After you

**I just want to take a bit to explain this collection of one-shots. I have many ideas, some very incomplete, which will not do very good stories, also sometimes my lack of time or motivation makes story chapters... bad, which I don't like. So for now, I'm gonna stick to one-shots.**

 **These one-shots though can be used as story prompts for your own stories, if you really like a concept I wrote about here, be sure to use it, just let me know so I can go read it! (would also love to be mentioned but obviously not mandatory). Also, if you have an idea and would like me to write a one shot on it, I'm all down for it!  
**

 **I will post this one-shots sporadically, so the time between two might be alot or none at all.**

 **So moving on to the actual story, I've had this idea for a while now, and sorry if the plot seems kinda rushed, but it turned pretty much how I wanted it to. I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

\- "Running After You" -

Hiccup closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he started running, you could hear his metal peg leg clicking agaisnt the concrete road inside the park, some amputees hide their prosthetics, not Hiccup, he didnt cover it with his pant leg, for him it wasn't a sad reminder of an accident, it was a proof of his evolution.

1 year before, he had been in tragic car accident, his father, who had been driving, was left unharmed, but Hiccup suffered major damage, losing part of his left leg and entering into a month long coma. After he woke up he insisted on starting to try and walk as soon as possible, 3 months later he was walking out of the hospital with a new metal leg.

His physiotherapist advised him to jog for at least 6 months, to help his recovery, Hiccup did so, Saturday and Sunday he came to run. At first he hated it. So much. But as he did it more and got better at it, he started liking, so much so, that even after the recommended 6 months, he didnt stop, he kept coming to jog. It had been 8 months since he left the hospital.

As Hiccup crossed Raven Point bridge the second reason he had kept jogging came into view. A beautiful blonde girl, her golden hair tied into a pony tail, blue sports bra and matching sweatpants. As she came closer he looked at the blue eyes he had fallen in love with. She smiled at him and nodded, and he did the same.

Unfortunately he had never been able to catch her after her run, for the last 8 months he had tried, and nothing.

That day Hiccup felt inspired, strong, so, he ran not one, not two, but three extra laps. When he finally sat down in a park bench, he was dripping sweat, and his legs- Err leg and a half, were very sore. He didn't mind though, he was used to it.

The young runner almost fell out of the bench as a golden shadow dropped down besides him, it was her. Hiccup couldn't help but stare, she was even more beautiful up close.

"Hi." She said smilling, she too, was dripping of sweat, taking deep breaths, the sight was more beautiful than Hiccup would like to admit, so much so that his cheeks turned even redder.

"Hi." Was his short answer, still baffled by the goddess in front of him.

"Sorry if I scared you, I'm Astrid." She smiled a little wider and extended her hand. Hiccup seemed to snap out of it and shook her hand.

"Henry, but you can call me Hiccup." She laughed as he said that. And Odin did he love that sound.

"Why Hiccup?" She asked as she stopped laughing and he couldnt help but smile.

"Well, let's just say kids won't pay attention to a bunny on show and tell if the kid showcasing it is hiccuping 20 times a minute... and yes... they counted..." He grinned, he was surpised at how calm he was, _must be the exhaustion._

"I've seen you here for the past few months, good to finally meet you." She said, "You ran more today, usually when I sit down here at the end of my run there isnt anyone else around."

"Yeah" Hiccup laughed a little and was about to say something when her phone rang.

"Sorry," she said grabbing her phone "Its my boyfriend, give me just a second." She got up to answer, and just like that, Hiccup's dreams were shattered. After sadness, came self-hate, of course she had a boyfriend, she was too gorgeous not to. And then, realization, had he been jogging recently simply because he wanted to see her?

As that thought crossed his mind Astrid sat down besides him, "Sorry about that, where were we?" She asked smilling.

Hiccup couldn't take it, her smile made him happy, which just joined the swirl of emotions he was already feeling. "I'm sorry, I have to go." With that he got up and left, his metal foot clicking against the concrete.

Astrid stared after him, bewildered and wondering what happened.

* * *

Astrid ran across the park, she hadn't seen Hiccup in two weeks, had she done something to upset him? She didn't really understand why it bothered her so much that she might have, she didn't even know the guy.

As she ran on a large hill that led into the park, she heard a whimper and stopped in her tracks. It came from behind a bush. She was a dog lover, having saved a beautiful German shepherd who she adopted and named Stormfly, she assumed it was another dog, she did not, however, expect to push the bushes apart and see Hiccup lying on the ground, his face full of mud, cuts, and tears.

"Oh my god Hiccup!" She rushed to him, he was crying. She looked him over, he didnt have his peg leg, and his legs were full of cuts and bruses. She took a deep breath, she was Astrid Hofferson and she was gonna help him.

She grabbed him bridal style, it wasnt hard, she was strong and he was kinda scrawny. As she heaved him up she heard him say "Astrid...", but she shushed him, "Save your energy."

She sat him down on a bench and was about to call 911 when Hiccup's muddy hand stopped her, and she looked at him, a plea in his green eyes told her not to.

She sighed and stored her phone, grabbed her tiny emergency kit from her fanny pack, it didn't have much but she was able desinfect most of the cuts and clean most of the mud. In the mean time Hiccup had passed out.

When she was done, she let him rest and went over to try and figure out what happened, she looked at the bottom of the hill, it wasn't far but it wasn't a short drop either. There were marks on the grass, as if someone had rolled down, she slowly followed them.

At the bottom she found Hiccup's fanny pack with his own tiny med kit, and Hiccup's metal peg leg, bent at an usable angle. And then it hit her. He crawled all the way up from there... She had to admit she was impressed.

She climbed back up, and sat besides Hiccup, who woke up a few minutes later. "Ow..." his whole body hurt, his hand instinctively went to his cut leg. It was then he seemed to notice that he was no longer full of mud, and he was in a bench, then he remembered his savior, Astrid.

He looked to his left where she was looking at him, a worried expression on her face that made him want to hug her and comfort her. "You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah," he said trying to hide the phantom pain but he winced has he said so.

"You know, you're a terrible liar, you're clearly in pain, what hurts?." She said affirmatively.

"My leg." He said, nodding towards his amputeed leg, clutching it with his hand.

"Hiccup... you know your leg is not there right...?" she said, looking at him worried.

"Yeah... its called phantom pain." He said rubbing his missing leg, at her confused look he answered "My leg hurts like.. like it was still there. Not much we can do about it though."

"What CAN we do?"

"Uh... massaging it usually helps, but I'll do it."

Astrid was gonna insist on helping but realized it was probably extermely personal to have someone touch your amputeed limb.

"What happened Hiccup?" She asked, looking at him worried and laying her hand on his shoulder, which did more to soothe the pain than any painkiller ever would.

"I was running, my leg slipped and I fell down." He explained simply.

"And you crawled all the way back up?"

"Well yeah, how would I see the view from down there?" He replied snarkly, grinning. She smiled, happy to see his sense of humor hadn't changed and gave him a little punch, which she immediately regretted when he flinched.

"Oh my god Hiccup I'm so sorry!" He laughed and told her not to worry about it, she smiled of relief and then remembered his plea not to call 911. "Hiccup... why didnt you want me to call 911?"

Hiccup sighed, "I dont want my dad finding out about this, ever since my accident, he's been a little over protective, and if i tell him about this, he'll lock me at home and I wont be able to run anymore " _and I won't see you again_ "and I don't want that."

Astrid nodded, she understood what it was to have overprotective parents. She looked down at her lap, suddenly she felt arms wrap around her.

"Thank you for saving me." He whispered into her neck.

She smiled and hugged him back, "That's what friends are for." She felt him hug her tighter and her smile widened.

* * *

Hiccup had reached the conclusion, after a two week hiatus of jogging, that despite Astrid being a big reason for why he kept running, his love for the sport was also a major one. So he decided to keep going to the park. It was on the day he returned he fell.

The accident turned out to be god sent, as it brought him and his savior, Astrid, alot closer. They started meeting after their jogs alot more frequently, and they spoke about a ton of stuff. Ocasionally even running together.

It felt really good for Hiccup to have someone other than his black retriever named Toothless. But it was bittersweet, the more they spoke, the more he liked her, and he knew he couldn't have her.

A few weeks after the accident they met at their bench after their runs, Astrid was waiting when he arrived. She was talking on the phone and smiled at him when he approached. He sat besides her, looking over at top of the trees, trying not to eavesdrop on their conversation, it was hard not to listen though, since she was sitting right besides him.

"Lunch out sounds great babe. I'll meet you there? Ok it's a plan, I'll see you then", with that she hung up and turned towards Hiccup, "Hi"

The auburn aired boy laughed, "Hi. So, lunch out? Sorry couldn't help but over hear."

Astrid smiled, "Yeah. You want to come with us? I think you'll like Eret."

"No, no, I'd be the third wheel." He laughed a little, but inside he was hurting, yet curious to know more about this guy who had won Astrid's affection, "So, his name is Eret?"

"Yeah, I know it's not the most usual name, but you can't comment on that!" She said laughing and giving him a tiny punch. "But in all seriousness, he's really cool and nice, he's a personal trainer."

Hiccup smiled, but it was forced, "I'm happy to hea-" pain shot up trough his leg, and he couldn't help but grab onto it, "Fuck!" He quickly unstrapped his peg leg and massaged his scalp.

He didn't even noticed Astrid running to go get a hot cloth at the park's coffee shop. When she returned, she hovered the cloth over his scalp and looked into his eyes, a request for permission. He had never let anyone other than doctors and his dad to touch his scalp... it was the ultimate sign of trust for him, and when he thought about it, even though he hadn't known for that long he trusted her, and so, he nodded.

She massaged his scalp with the hot cloth for a bit, always looking over to him, inspecting his face for pain, after a bit the pain subcided and he re-attached his fake leg.

"Thank you. Now you'll never get rid of me." He jokingly said, he liked her answer more than he should.

"I'm rather ok with that." She smiled, she had never felt so close emotionally with someone, and she could honestly say that Hiccup, despite not know him for a long time, meant more to her than she was willing to let her self admit.

They bid their farewells and went on with their lives. Astrid hated to admit that during her date with Eret, all she wanted was Hiccup to be there.

* * *

One day during Hiccup's jog he began to hear thuds coming from the trees, he stopped, and listened carefully, when he heard a shout, and recognized it as Astrid's, he ran towards the sound.

All he could think about as he ran through the bushes, was that he hoped she wasn't hurt, he reached a small clearing, in it was Astrid, punching the living hell out of a tree and mumbling angrily. He was almost afraid to approach her. Almost.

He came up behind her, and asked, "Astrid…?"

She turned around, fist cocked, her eyes red from tears but with an expression of pure anger. "What!?"

Hiccup took a step back, startled, but tripped, that seemed to snap Astrid to her sense has she kneeled besides him a softer look on her face "I'm sorry Hiccup, you Ok?"

Hiccup smiled, "Yeah, but you don't seem to be." He gestured towards her bloody knuckles, he grabbed a small bandage from his fanny pack and looked at her, "Can I?" She nodded and he proceeded to wrap it around her knuckles, as he did, he asked "So what did the tree do this time?"

Astrid, smiled a little bit her soft look was quickly replaced by a sad and angry one, "He slept with another girl. So we broke up."

Hiccup thought he'd be excited, Astrid was single, but he was sad, he was sad because he knew how much Astrid had cared for the other man, and he didn't like seeing her like that. He finished wrapping her knuckles and gave her an enormous hug, which she returned.

"I know it's none of my business but… if he cheated on you, he didn't deserve you. "

"Maybe I was the one who didn't deserve him" it was then Hiccup saw a secret part of the amazing, strong girl he had come to know, a part few, if any, saw. Her insecure side.

"No, you didn't deserve him", Astrid looked at him shocked for a moment, "You deserve someone so much better, someone who appreciates you and does not cheat on you. You are Astrid fucking Hofferson, and don't let anyone tell you that's not awesome." Astrid grinned, her sadness almost gone and that strong look that Hiccup had learned to love back in her eyes

She hugged him, tighter this time, and Hiccup squeezed her just as much, happy his friend was happy. His best friend.

* * *

Hiccup raced after Astrid, her laugh echoing through the trees as she ran away from him. A few weeks had passed since she and Eret had broken up, he had come to her house drunk one night but nothing happened.

Hiccup and Astrid were best friends, they now jogged together, instead of just meeting afterwards, they tried to spend as much time together as they could. And Hiccup was sure of one thing, he wanted to be more than her friend.

She laughed and looked back just as Hiccup caught up with her and tackled her, both rolling onto the grass, laughing as they play-fought.

Astrid was happy, happier than she had been in a while, and it was because of this boy, this scrawny, green eyed, auburn haired boy. It was as she rolled on the grass with him she realized she wanted Hiccup to be there, and not just as her friend.

As they came to a halt, she was laying on the ground, Hiccup hovering over her, they were both panting and smiling, looking into each other's eyes. God she wanted him to kiss her, and he wanted to kiss her, so much, but he was afraid she didn't feel the same way. He didn't know just how important he was to Astrid.

 _Fuck it_ her mind finally said, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a deep kiss.

He did now.


	2. My Name is Astrid

**Hello all, not much to say right now, just the this one is longer than the other but also.. a little less realistic, anyway, I really like it, and I hope everyone does too.**

 **Also, I want to thank you for your kind reviews, they motivate me to write more, so, thank you.**

* * *

\- "My Name is Astrid" -

Finally it was here, ComicCon had finally come to Berk, and for the next 5 years it's where it would be hosted. Hiccup had waited so long for it. However he had made good use of that time, making a perfect Spiderman suit to take.

Some would think it's pretty cliché going as Spiderman, but for Hiccup, he couldn't relate more to the Hero, a nerd with a dry sense of humor who just wanted to help.

He loved cosplaying and had always wanted to go to ComicCon, it was how he could be whatever he wanted to be, in this case, Spiderman.

He walked into the enormous Hall, it was full of stands and other pop culture fans, he spotted several Batmans, Robins, and other Spidermans but he liked to think his suit was the most accurate of them all. On his back he had a bag, the same bag Peter Parker used when not Spiderman.

He had already bought some things, and taken more than a few photos, when he passed a girl dressed as SpiderGwen. The suit was amazingly made and accurate. And the girl wearing it fitted in it like a glove, she honestly looked like Spidergwen.

She was posing for a photo, when the turists taking said picture waved him over to join her. Embaressed he walked towards them, and stood beside the posing SpiderGwen. The photographer looked kinda disapointed with his attitude.

"Come on don't just stant there, get in a pose." The SpiderGwen said, a chuckle in her voice at Hiccup's nervousism.

Her calm voice seem to relax him, and he got into position, the turists smiled and laughed, taking several pictures, first with their camera and then with a phone. After they were done, they returned the phone to the girl, thanked them and left.

"Sorry about that, never actually took a picture with another cosplayer." He rubbed the back of his neck while he spoke, the girl laughed, and although muffled by her mask, it was a beautiful sound.

"No worries. I'm SpiderGwen." She extended her hand for him to shake.

"Uh... I hope that's not your real name." The girl laughed once more and shook her head,

"It's not, but a super hero never reveals their identity." Hiccup chuckled and nodded.

"I'm Spiderman." He said simply, shaking her hand.

"SpiderGwen! Come on we're gonna miss the Imperial March!" A girl with two massive braids, fully painted in blue, called her, clearly trying to cosplay as Ayla Sakura from star wars.

"Going!" The superhero he had just met shouted back, running towards her friend. She looked back and said, "See you around Spidey!"

Hiccup stood frozen in place as he watched her leave. He had liked her attitude, and her costume, but he wasn't sure how to feel about her, he didn't know her, or her name. He hadn't even seen her face, but despite all that he was kinda hoping to see her again.

He wandered around for the rest day, buying stuff, taking pictures, getting autographs, he even talked with a comic book writer about his ideas, and how they could be better. However, he also spent the entire day looking for the SpiderGwen, he had seen others but none with a suit so well made as hers.

At the end of the day he headed home, happy yet a little disapointed he hand't seen the girl once more.

* * *

 **ONE YEAR LATER**

* * *

"And done!" Astrid said as she pulled the hood of her costume over her masked face.

Astrid had been cosplaying ever since she was a small girl, and she absolutely loved it. It allowed her to be who she wanted, not just Astrid, she could be SpiderGwen today, Catwoman tomorrow, whatever she wanted.

But she had to admit, SpiderGwen was her favorite and the suit she had made was quite amazing, if she said so herself.

She grabbed her phone and looked at the locked screen photo, it was her photo with that spiderman from last year, despite not knowing the guy, it was still one of her favorite photos ever.

Said phone started ringing as she held it, the caller id read 'Eret' and she answered it, "Hey Eret."

"I'm downstairs babe, ready to go when you are." Eret had insited on coming to ComicCon with her, when she had shown him her suit he had said 'she looked too hot in it for him not to go', but she knew he wasn't a fan of pop culture. She agreed he went, but he needed to call her SpiderGwen.

They soon arrived at the pavilon the convention was being hosted at and got into line. Astrid and Eret spoke as they waited, she told him the stories of SpiderGwen and despite him listening and paying some attention, she knew he didn't really care, he was just being polite.

After walking around for a bit inside Astrid saw a Spiderman with a very specific backpack posing for a photo, she smiled and ran towards him, jumping on his back just as the picture was taken.

The visitors taking the picture laughed and Astrid jumped off Spidey's back. The blonde girl gave the females taking the picture her email, and asked them to send her the photo.

"You almost gave me a heart attack Gwen!" the spiderman cosplayer chuckled and brought his hand to his heart. Astrid laughed and raised an eyebrow, although he couldn't see.

"Gwen?" She asked curiously.

"Well I can't always call you SpiderGwen." he shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Astrid!" Eret ran towards them and Astrid groaned, "What happened? Are you ok?"

"Eret! I Told you not to say my name..." She sighed, the ilusion was ruined, at least he did it because he was worried. "I'm ok though babe."

"I'm sorry Astrid..." he laid a hand on her shoulder he didn't understand why it was so important for her, but he knew he had screwed up, "I'll go for a walk and let you two geek out..." he didn't mind leaving her alone with some nerd, he knew there was no way she'd trade him for that guy.

"Well at least I don't need to call you Gwen anymore." Spiderman shrugged.

"Please do, in here I'm not Astrid, I'm SpiderGwen." She said looking at him, "Eret," she pointed at the burly man leaving, "he doesn't understand that, in here we don't have to ourselves, we can be-"

"-what ever we want." he finished for her, smilling, although she couldn't see.

"Exactly, at least you get that." She said, smilling.

"So do you prefer Gwen or SpiderGwen?" He asked, starting to walk in a random direction, she got into pace besides him.

"SpiderGwen." She said after some consideration.

They walked for another hour, pretending to be SpiderGwen and Spiderman, Astrid was having so much fun with this boy dressed as a super hero, even though she didn't know him. She looked at her phone to check time and was surprised by how long it had passed, she sudenly felt pity for her boyfriend, probably lost in a crowd of batmans.

"I gotta go Spidey, I hope to see you later!" She waved as she began to run away from him but suddenly stopped. She raced back to him and gave him a hug, which he responded. "Thank you, I had fun." Then she left him, standing frozen.

She called her boyfriend and met up with, spending the rest of the day with the burly man. Although she had fun with Eret, she was always on the lookout for a certain spiderman, and was disapointed when at the end of the day, she went home without seeing him again.

* * *

 **ONE YEAR LATER**

* * *

Hiccup strolled into ComicCon, for the third year in a row. His costume was the same, good ol' Spidey. He hoped he'd run into SpiderGwen, a.k.a, Astrid, again. Last year had been so much fun, and he couldn't wait to see her again.

Hiccup strolled past a few stores, distracted has he looked around for a white suit. He was so focused, he didn't see the female Jedi in front of him, until he bumped into her back.

"Sorry about that." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

The girl turned around with a giggle, she was dark haired and green eyed, very pretty actually, and was dressed like Luminara, her chin painted just like the force wielder, "It's quite alright." She inspected him, from top to bottom, "Nice suit. I'm Heather." She extended her hand for him to shake, and he did, answering in kind, "Hiccup."

She laughed at his name, "Is that really your name?"

"Unfortunetely yeah..." he said shepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Mom beleived a hideous name would keep me safe." _it didn't_ he finished mentally.

He talked with the girl for quite some time, she was mainly a Star Wars fan, but knew a couple things about comics too. They spent almost the rest of the day together, having both come alone and enjoyed each other's company.

During that time Hiccup learned that Heather was new in town, and taking graphic design. She also had a brother with crazy, but surprisingly good, ideas for comics and movies. She learned a little about Hicccup too, how he had a pet black piriquet who he had mockingly named Toothless and that the boy was an enormous fan of the spidery hero.

The whole time he was with his new friend though, Hiccup couldn't help to look around hoping to see Astrid, or even the burly man she called boyfriend. As much as he was enjoying his time with Heather, she wasn't Astrid.

At the end of the day Hiccup and Heather left the pavilion together, Hiccup was disappointed, his shoulders sagging, he hadn't even seen her, had she not come this year? Had she been avoiding him? Or did they simply not run into each other?

Heather noticed Hiccup's lumped shoulders and asked, "You ok Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked at her surprised, lost in thought, until her question rendered in his mind, and he shook his head "Yeah, sorry distracted."

"You know, I havent actually seen your face." she commented.

"Not much to see there to be honest." He shrugged.

"Come on, let me see." She jumped in front of him, puppy eyes looking at up at him. He sighed and removed the mask, his auburn hair going everywhere and his bright green eyes looking down at her, she put her hands in his hair. "You're very handsome." She said prasingly.

Then, she kissed him. Hiccup's eyes opened wide for a moment before he kissed her back, pulling her a little closer. He didn't notice the girl, dressed in a white SpiderGwen suit, stopping her run abruptly a few feet beside them.

* * *

 **ONE YEAR LATER**

* * *

Astrid put on her SpiderGwen suit once more, it would never get old for her, she loved the superhero, and she loved dressing up like her.

Last year she had come home from ComicCon extremely disapointed and sad, she had had fun during the day, always on the look-out for a tall, lanky boy dressed as spiderman. When the convention had ended, she had not yet found him, but as she left, she saw him. She ran towards him, but the girl he was with pulled off his mask and kissed him. In the darkness she could only make out that he had wild, auburn hair

She didn't know why it had felt a stab to the heart, she had a boyfriend, Eret, and they barely knew eachother, but it had hurt nonetheless.

Now, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him, he'd probably be with that girl, and she didn't know if she wanted to meet her.

She headed to ComicCon again, Eret had not wanted to go more after that first failure two years ago, so she drove herself there. Parking was difficult, as usual, and she was so annoyed by it, that when she finally parked, she threw open her car door, without looking at the side walk, and accidentaly hitting someone.

"Oh my god I am so sorry, I didn't look." She said as she was leaving the car.

"What is it with you and violence SpiderGwen..." Astrid was surprised how much she missed that voice, Spidey's voice. He was laying on the ground clutching his right leg but chuckling.

"Spidey! I'm so sorry!" She kneeled beside him, inspecting him top to bottom, and that's when she noticed his left leg was bent at a humanly impossible angle, "Oh my god your leg!"

Spidey chuckled, but with a sad tone, "I didn't want you to find out like this..."

He removed the foot of his suit and behind it came a prosthetic leg, that looked exactly like a human one, Astrid gasped, "Is that.. a peg leg?"

"Yeah...", he looked down and lowered his shoulders, "Guess I'm no longer the amazing Spiderman..."

"No, you're not." She said blantantly, which made his shoulders sag even more, "You're the Super Amazing Spiderman."

Astrid meant it, for some reason, all that pain she had felt, all that sadness had gone away as soon as she had heard his voice, and sharing this... deep secret he was trying to hide, it only brought them closer. She didn't care he was missing half a leg, if anything it made her think higher of him, to be able to keep his sense of humor, his happiness, even after losing a leg, it was indeed amazing.

He looked up at her and she smiled. And even though she was pretty sure he couldn't see, she knew he knew she had smiled.

"Thank you." He whispered, before hugging her. She closed his arms around him tighly aswell.

After they parted, he put his prosthetic in place, got up, and extend his arm, "M'lady."

She laughed at his antics, and interlocked her arm with his, she didn't know where the girl he had kissed was, and she was sure Eret would not like her crossing arms with another man, but she didn't care, she was happy to see Spidey again.

They waited in line together, talking and laughing, several peole asking to take pictures with them as they waited, some even asked for a kiss picture but they both blushed under their masks and said they weren't a couple.

Once inside they both raced to the comic book stands, laughing that they had wanted to to go the same place. After they bought way too many comics, they began to wander around, still treating each other by their super hero names.

As Astrid turned a corner, walking besides Spidey, they bumped into a black haired girl, dressed as Luminara. She saw Spiderman stiffen. it didn't take Astrid much to realize this was the girl she had seen last year kissing her friend, apparently, it hadn't ended on the best of terms.

"Hey Hiccup." They girl said towards spiderman.

"Hello Heather." Her cosplaying friend said in a tone she had never heard from him, a cold one.

Heather looked over to Astrid, eyeing her up and down, turning back to Spidey, "You look good, it was nice to you." With that, the girl left.

It was then Astrid unfroze, she felt... happy that they weren't together like she thought, but then, she felt guilty for feeling happy about their breakup. In a quick decision she decided not bother Spiderman, who she had just found out was called Hiccup, which was quite hilarious...

"Look-" He started, but Astrid interrupted him, laughing hysterically.

"You name is Hiccup!?" She couldn't stop the laughs that left her body, clutching her stomach, Hiccup shook his head, he was thankful she hand't asked him about Heather, and her reaction made him smile.

"It's not that bad!" He argued, but he had to admit, it was.

"Your name! Is a body reflex!" She said between pants, "How is that not bad!"

Hiccup shook his head, chuckling, "Well at least we know each other's names now."

Astrid got up, still laughing a bit, "Yeah I guess there is that."

They walked around for the rest of the day, taking a small lunch break. Despite knowing each other's names, they still opted to call each other by their super hero names. It was their thing, their game.

At the end of the day Hiccup took Astrid to her car, they walked arm in arm, laughing. Astrid had to admit she didn't remember the last time she had had this much fun. This boy was something completely extraordinary.

As they arrived at Astrid's car, she stopped and turned to him, "Well this is my stop." They looked at each other in silence, their masks still on, "I really enjoyed today, thank you."

Then, Hiccup asked her a question she did not expect, "SpiderGwen... Can we be friends?" Astrid smiled and blushed under her mask, it was such an innocent and pure question, like something he couldn't hold in anymore. She took a step forward and gave him a massive hug, whispering in his ear, "We already are."

He hugged her tigher as she said that, they parted, and he started walking away. Astrid hesitated, that acknowledgment of friendship... it was strange, she felt closer to this boy, who she had only met three times, than she felt with friends she had had for years. If she was being honest, closer than she felt with Eret, which left her with some doubts about that relationship.

But because of that closeness, she had to talk to him about _it_. She was sure he hand't talked about _it_ with anyone, and she was his friend, and as friend she'd help him get over _it_.

"You know I saw you last year." She said, looking at his back, he didn't turn around, "I saw you as I was leaving, I ran to say hi... but that girl kissed you. What happened between you two?"

He shrugged, "I really liked her, but.. she wanted me to give up things, things I wasn't ready to give up."

Astrid moved a little closer, "Like?"

He shrugged again, "Comics, games, she couldn't come to turns that I liked reading and playing more than I liked spending time with her... which, I see now, probably meant we weren't meant to be."

"Did you end it? or did she?" She asked, laying a hand on his shoulder, it was only then he turned around.

"I did, after she burned one of my favorite comics... "SpiderGwen #1"..." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarassed, Astrid chuckled.

"She wasn't meant to be Hiccup..." It was the first time she said his name without mocking him, and she liked it, "Out there," she pointed into the dark, "There's a girl who you'll want to share your comics and games with, who will want you to cherish every moment with. Don't give up yet."

"Thank you Astrid," she liked hearing him say her name more than she would admit, "I.. I needed to hear someone say that."

Astrid smiled, and decided to try and lighten the mood, "Well, at least one good thing came of it, I know your hair colour is auburn.." she said, a sly tone in her voice.

"Hey no fair!" Hiccup jokingly complained, "I don't know your hair colour!"

Astrid laughed, faking an evil laugh. She gave him a hug, "I'll see you next year, Hiccup."

Hiccup hugged her back, "I hope so, Astrid." As they parted she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and even though there were several layers of clothing between them, she felt her lips burn, a good kind of burn.

She got into her car and drove home, but as she passed Hiccup, she rolled down her window and shouted, "I'm a blonde!"

* * *

 **ONE YEAR LATER  
**

* * *

This year. This year he would get her number. He had waited 5 ones, no more. He didn't care if she had a boyfriend, he would be ok just being a friend. She was so amazing, he couldn't let her go.

He put on his Spiderman suit, once again, and headed down to his garage, getting into his car and driving there. On the way he thought about what to do, should he show her his face? or just ask for her number? Hiccup had no idea, and he was pretty sure everything in his mind would go blank once he heard her laugh.

He got in line when he got there, always looking around for a white suit. He didn't see one while he waited to enter. When he did step into the giant Hall he went right away to the comic book stand hoping to find her there. And so be it, she was there looking at a comic, she was so focused Hiccup thought he could sneak on her and scare her. But as he got close, she rose her hand, "Please I can spot you a mile away."

"Damn you and your spidey sense!" He mockingly complained, pouting.

She turned around and he could tell she was grinning, she bought the comic and went to meet him. "Hi, missed me?" she greeted.

"Everyday Mi'lady." He did a mock bow, and although he made it sound like he was kidding, he actually wasn't.

They went for a walk, and Hiccup asked, "So.. You and that... Erik? are you guys still together?"

Astrid laughed a little, although it didn't come with it's usual cheerfulness but with a tone of sadness, "Eret, and no, we had... a falling out..."

Hiccup turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, he knew she had liked him enough to tolerate his insensiveness tpwards pop culturr, "I'm sorry. You wanna talk about it?"

"He just didn't understand that pop culture would always be part of my life, for him it doesn't mean anything, and he said I should 'grow up and forget it'." SpiderGwen shrugged, although she sounded slightly angry.

"I'm sorry." He gave her a comforting hug, which she accepted.

"How about you? Any new black widows in your life?" She wiggled her eyebrows under her mask, although he couldn't see, and elbowed him slightly on his ribs.

"You know they kill their mates after they have sex right?" He said, sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

"Exactly, that's the best part about them." She laughed, her cheerfulness back.

Hiccup rolled his eyes playfully, "You and violence..."

They strolled around for the rest of the day like they had the previous year, but this time, Hiccup spent the entire time wondering what he would say to her to get her number and to get her to be his friend in real life. Slowly, over the course of the day, he made a plan. He decided that at the end of everything he would ask her for her number, so they could meet afterwards, since it would be the last ComicCon in Berk, and if they didn't, they might never meet again.

They had lot's of fun despite Hiccup's constant thinking, they played games, read comics, took alot of pictures, got a ton of autographs. The day went by faster than any of the two wanted. And too soon they were being forced out and Hiccup was walking Astrid to her car.

When they stopped by her car, she grabbed her phone and showed him her screen saver, it was still their first picture. Hiccup smiled as he looked at it.

"Can you beleive that was 5 years ago? It seems just like it was yesterday... Two super heros met." she looked at the picture fondly.

"Yeah..." It was now or never, Hiccup had to ask her now, or he'd regret it forever. So he thought about his plan.. and tossed it out the window, "I don't want to be friends with SpiderGwen anymore." He said suddenly and with a serious voice.

Astrid's head shot up and stared at him, frozen in shock.

"I don't want to be friends with her because I only had 5 chances to see SpiderGwen.." He said, coming closer to her, "Now, I want to meet Astrid."

Astrid shook her head, "No, you don't, Astrid is nothing, SpiderGwen is the only good part of her." Hiccup noticed the cloth around her eyes grow wet, and could tell she was crying,he was seeing her insecure side, something he was sure the strong girl he'd come to know never shared with anyone. but alas he continued.

"I want to meet the girl I've learned about this last 5 years, I want to see her face, I want to see her smile, I want to see her eyes... If she's anything like SpdierGwen, then she is truly amazing."

He reached up to his mask, "I want to meet the real Astrid and I want Astrid to meet the real Hiccup." Hiccup had no idea where all of this was coming from, it was nothing like he had planned, but his fear of never seeing her again was making him pour everything out. He pulled his mask off, Astrid was still frozen in place.

This time he reached for her mask, "Can I...?"

She grabbed his hand, "You're going to be disapointed."

"I'm disapointed in myself, I've wasted the last 5 years, I'm not going to lose you Astrid." He looked at her, pleading, tears in his eyes.

She let go of his hand and gave a short nod, he pulled down her hood, then, slowly pulled off the mask. He was shocked at what he saw and his face reflected on it.

Astrid looked away, crying, "I told you..." she whispered.

He grabbed her chin, making her look at him, "You're beautiful." He said simply, and he truly thought so, she was indeed blonde, with blue eyes, and, for him, the most beautiful face he had ever seen.

She stared into his eyes, and could see the honesty in them. She smiled, and he smiled back.

"Hi, I'm Hiccup." He smiled, and extended his hand.

She chuckled, as tears flooded her eyes once more, this time of happiness, she shook his hand and answered, "My name is Astrid."


End file.
